An oral peripheral examination is a routine component of any speech/language evaluation. The purpose of an oral-peripheral examination is to determine whether there are any structural or functional problems with the oral mechanism that could be contributing to speech problems. I have included videos of an oral peripheral examination with both an older and younger child as they often require different strategies. With children who are very young or noncompliant a formal examination is not always possible.

For children who do not have enough language to participate in a standardized articulation assessment but are producing sounds, we collect a phonemic inventory. This means we write down all of the 1) phonemes and 2) syllable shapes that the child produces during the session. Phonemes are typically recorded using the International Phonetic Alphabet found here. Syllable shape refers to the arrangement of consonants and vowels (e.g. up=VC=vowel + consonant; cat=CVC= consonant + vowel + consonant). A phonemic inventory worksheet is included in your Diagnostic Resource Binder.